More things journalism can learn from porn

Mark Luckie's post What the journalism industry can learn from porn is getting some linkage for its observations that purveyors of pornography have done a much better jobs than purveyors of journalism when it comes to taking advantage of new media. True enough, but there are other lessons I think that deserve some attention.

Lesson 1: Understand and appeal to human needs. For porn pushers, that's pretty simple; for journalism, not quote so simple. Take a look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The needs at the bottom of the triangle will trump the needs at the top, and the porn pushers are working on the bottom of the triangle. Being a well-informed good citizen probably belongs up at the top under "self-actualization." Most of the population never really gets there.

But newspapers historically have been a rich bundle of services, not merely a feed of news. Many of those services, such as real estate, employment and grocery advertising, applied to more basic human needs than your typical report on the campaign for city council.

Journalism that touches on basic needs (like safety and physiological issues) has long been known to draw more attention than "good citizenship" content. This is dangerous territory, of course, and it's what draws television into the trap of "if if bleeds, it leads."

Another way of looking at the issue is to apply the information-acquisition model developed by economist Anthony Downs. He said there are four basic types of information:

1. Information that's useful in your role as a consumer.
2. Information that's useful in your role as a producer (i.e., your job).
3. Information that is entertaining.
4. Information that is useful in your role as a good citizen (i.e. voting).

As Jay Hamilton explains, the more of the first three types you consume, the more you benefit. But because of the tiny role an individual plays in a political process, it's "rational" to skimp on #4.

So as the Internet unbundles various types of content and advertising, it not only endangers big mainstream media, it also endangers our common goal of making an informed electorate. So we need to be on the lookout not only for ways to appeal to basic human needs, but also for creative ways to get some broccoli into the diet.

Lesson 2: New technologies lower barriers to entry, and create new players. Maybe there's a business school study on this somewhere, but it seems obvious that Hugh Hefner and Bob Guccione do not dominate the pornscape.

Guccione's Penthouse empire fell into bankruptcy. Hefner's very smart daughter Christie -- who was a keynote speaker at a Newspaper Association of America conference several years ago -- has effectively preserved the company by aggressively moving into new media and launching many new non-Playboy brands. But even so, it's been eclipsed by tens of thousands of new players ... including amateurs. Anybody with an Internet connection and a webcam can go into business.

So it is with "citizen journalism," blogging, and the many forms of amateur content competing with traditional journalism. Some existing companies will survive, some will fall, and all will have to learn to coexist with a rich landscape of new competitors.